IMF approves $224.8 mln in extra credit for Ivory Coast

The International Monetary Fund’s Executive Board approved $224.8 million in additional credit for Ivory Coast under an existing lending framework, it said in a statement on Monday.

“The Board … approved an augmentation of access under the two arrangements by about US$224.8 million or 25 percent of the country’s quota,” the statement said.

Ivory Coast has emerged from a 2011 civil war to become Africa’s fastest growing economy, but the government has had to cut its budget this year amid falling cocoa prices and payment demands from disgruntled soldiers.

“The country has been hit by a substantial term of trade shock and experienced social tensions earlier this year,” said IMF Deputy Managing Director Mitsuhiro Furusawa.

“Nonetheless, the country’s economic outlook remains strong, with growth projected at about 7 percent in 2017–19,” he added.

The additional credit brings total lending under the existing two credit arrangements spread over three years to around $900 million, the IMF added.

It was unclear how much President Alassane Ouattara’s government had requested. The IMF said Ivory Coast had now reached its lending quota under the existing programme.